John Pym in the Long Parliament
Avril Vaughan (1937-2006)
Category
Coins and medals
Date
1992
Materials
Silver
Measurements
517 mm (Diameter)
Place of origin
United Kingdom
Order this imageCollection
Osterley Park and House, London
NT 773251
Summary
Silver, John Pym in the Long Parliament, medal designed by Avril Vaughan (1937-2006) and Michael Harvey (1931-2013), struck Royal Mint, Llantrisant, 1992. A silver medal commemorating the role of John Pym in the Long Parliament. The fourth medal in a set of twelve issued by the Royal Mint in 1992 and 1993, to mark the 350th Anniversary of the English Civil War. On the obverse, designed by Avril Vaughan, a portrait of John Pym (1584-1643) and, in the background, Parliament in session, the royal mace on a table at right. Artist’s monogram 'AV' at lower right, above Pym’s left shoulder. On the reverse, designed by Michael Harvey, the legend reads 'JOHN PYM IN THE LONG PARLIAMENT. / DIED 8 DECEMBER 1643. / The promoter of the present rebellion.' The latter phrase refers to a description of Pym, one of the King’s most bitter opponents, made in a report written to his government by the Venetian envoy to England.
Full description
The Civil War was fought, mainly in England, between 1642 and 1649, the result of a long struggle for power between King Charles I (1600-49) and Parliament. John Pym (1584-1643) was a Puritan lawyer and parliamentarian, whose strong opposition to Catholicism made him one of the principal enemies of King James I and, subsequently, his son Charles I. After becoming the leader of opposition to the King in Parliament, Pym was one of five Members whom Charles sought to have arrested, when he entered Parliament on 5 January 1642. The five had been forewarned and fled, to return a week later. The phrase on the reverse of the medal refers to a report by the Venetian ambassador to his government, in which he described Pym as ‘The promoter of the present rebellion and the director of the whole machine.’ One of Pym’s final achievements before his death was to enlist the support on Parliament’s side of the Presbyterian Scots, which would prove crucial in the King’s eventual defeat in the north. This was the fourth in a series of twelve medals issued by the Royal Mint at monthly intervals from June 1992, to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the outbreak of the English Civil War. The twelve medals illustrate the significant points in the conflict, from the raising of Charles I’s standard at Nottingham on 22 August 1642, to his execution on 30 January 1649. The designs of the obverses of the medals were commissioned from three leading contemporary artists, John Lobban, Michael Rizzello and Avril Vaughan, whilst the whilst the reverses, each of which contains a quotation relating to the subject of the medal, were designed by the distinguished lettering artist Michael Harvey, best-known for the names of celebrated Renaissance artists carved into the stonework of the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery. Michael Harvey’s original artwork for the series is in the Library of the University of Reading (URL MS 5115, file 392). The selection of the twelve episodes and the accompanying legend was devised by the historian of Tudor coinage Dr Christopher Challis. The medals were issued in silver and in bronze, in editions of 2,500 and 5,000, retailing at £84.50 or £49.50 per medal respectively. It was possible to buy the medals singly or as a set of twelve, the latter housed in an African walnut case. The whole series is in the collection at Osterley, but without the wooden case (NT 773248-773258, NT 773623). Jeremy Warren 2019
Provenance
Given to the National Trust in 1993 by George Child Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey (1910-1998).
Marks and inscriptions
Obverse, lower right, above Pym's shoulder: AV (Avril Vaughan monogram) Reverse, legend: JOHN PYM IN THE LONG PARLIAMENT. / DIED 8 DECEMBER 1643. / The promoter of the present rebellion
Makers and roles
Avril Vaughan (1937-2006), designer Michael Harvey (1931-2013), designer The Royal Mint, manufacturer